**Guest post from Marcus Welch, President & CEO of Quadio.

"1. There are so many talented creators out there who could benefit from the help a label provides - many, many more than you think.

We’ve been able to discover lots of them through the tools and community we’ve built with Quadio, but we haven’t even scratched the surface with regards to how many incredible artists are out there. As a label, we can take someone with raw talent and build a career for them if the fit is right and the passion is there, but finding one another in the vast sea of musicians can be hard. On top of that, the right choice for an artist might be to go at it independently - which is a totally viable strategy for some, and can be leveraged in all kinds of ways with a creative enough approach.

2. Invest in artists who are as hardworking as they are talented & get to know them on a personal level before working together professionally.

Even artists with world-class talent won’t go anywhere if they aren’t willing to put in the hours to write, record, promote, and share their music. As a label, we can do all kinds of things to get the music in front of people, but the most important piece of the puzzle is how much fire the artist has in them. Do they wake up every day thinking of ways they can grow? You won’t know whether you and the artist are a real fit (from a work ethic standpoint and from a sonic perspective) until you’ve spoken with them extensively about who they are, what they want to create, and how hard they’re willing to grind to achieve their goals.

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3. The power of the marketing behind the music/artist cannot be underestimated. Having incredible and creative minds on your team will do major things.

No two artists are the same, which means that no two marketing strategies should be the same. Having artists and a team that get that and bring fresh and creative ideas to the table every day is mission-critical. While there is always value in the traditional marketing methods, in order to see real movement and growth, they need to be bolstered by creative ideas and unique marketing tactics. Building a team on the label that gets that and feels energized by that challenge will be a massive key to the success of the artists and the label.

4. There is no one-size-fits-all strategy that guarantees success.

That goes for the music and the support. As mentioned earlier, every artist is unique and their music is unique, meaning that the methods and tools employed to promote them need to take that into account. Just because a strategy worked for another similar artist, doesn’t mean it is going to be right for another - their fans may not respond the same way or it may come off as disingenuous to copy another artist. Marketing and messaging tailor made to an artist and their work is going to be the only way to stand out, and while it is excellent to get inspiration and ideas from other artists, tailoring to them is essential.

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5. Just because you love an artist’s music, it doesn’t mean they’re a perfect fit for the label. Sometimes it's OK to just be a fan.

This might be the case for all kinds of reasons - someone might not be a fit from a musical perspective, they may only want to pursue music as a hobby, or they might just have a different or conflicting approach to their creative career. On top of all of those reasons (and many more), no artist is obligated to sign any deal, and that is absolutely their choice to make. In the industry right now, it is also a totally viable option - all you can do is stay close, keep in touch with them, and wish them luck as they grow."

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